The Panthers have yet to lock up free agent defensive end Greg Hardy, who notched 15 sacks in 2013, and franchise quarterback Cam Newton is entering the final year of his rookie deal. Next offseason, defensive player of the year Luke Kuechly will be in the same boat.

In Gross, Carolina has now lost a pro-bowl level player at one of the league’s most important positions, and they’re without a clear-cut replacement in-house.

If this had happened during the season, Byron Bell would have likely manned the left tackle position, but he has proven to be a below average pass blocker at this point his career. The undrafted free agent surrendered nine sacks in 2013, according to Pro Football Focus.

If the Panthers have to open up the check book to get a left tackle, that would severely handicap their ability to re-sign Hardy. Without Hardy, the defense could take a step back, while Gross’ replacement will find it hard to fill his immense shoes, leading to regression on that side of the ball, as well.

There should be a number of talented tackles available through both free agency and the draft for the Panthers to consider.

Drafting a Day-1 starter will be difficult at the back of the first round, so it might be best for the Panthers to find a stop-gap in free agency, while they try to develop a second- or third-round pick.

If Gettleman can let the market play out and pick up a guy late — maybe a Roger Saffold, for instance — they could get a more team-friendly deal. Something commensurate to the short-term money Carolina thought it could get Gross to come back for.

That would allow the Panthers to keep Hardy and keep their strength on defense strong.

The team has already started their efforts to free up cap space for the off-season by reworking the deals of Ryan Kalil, Jonathan Stewart and Thomas Davis.

Going into the new NFL year, the Panthers’ top-10 players make up about 65 percent of the team’s cap, so Gettleman will have some work to do. That will start with cutting safety Charles Godfrey, who is scheduled to make $7.1 million next season.

The Panthers could also part ways with defensive end Charles Johnson, who is currently the team’s highest paid player, if he is unwilling to restructure his deal this offseason. If they do so after June 1, they could save nearly $17 million over the next two seasons. Waiting until next offseason to cut Johnson would save team $11 million in 2015.

Carolina will probably say goodbye to another offensive stalwart after next season in Steve Smith. Smith lost a step last season, and releasing him next offseason would save the team $4 million.

Around that same time, the Panthers can finally start to get from under the massive contracts Hurney gave to DeAngelo Williams and Stewart.

The restructuring of Kalil, Stewart and Davis is exactly the type of temporarily cap-relieving move the Panthers can’t continue to rely on, as it just commits more money in the future — the team needs that money to lock up its young stars.

The Panthers franchise has never made the playoffs in consecutive years. If they are going to end that trend, they’ll need to solve their left tackle problem — but they can’t afford to mortgage the future in order to do so.